GEOG 1410 Lecture 11: Demography and biopolitics: population density, fertility and migration
3 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
GEOG 1410
October 12, 2017
Demography and biopolitics: population density, fertility and migration
● Voluntary Migration
● Forced/Involuntary Migration - those fleeing intolerable situations (war, climate
change)
○ 60-65 million people uprooted by war
● There are several countries in the world that are housing the majority of the refugee
population that are not first world countries
○ Ex. Millions trying to escape Syria to the EU. The EU has made serious
efforts to house refugees, but at the same time they did a deal with Turkey to
enforce the border so they do not cross into the EU, and for them to stay in
Turkey. Thousands of people drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean.
● The “so what” about migration: even though we throw big numbers around, when we
look at the discourse, it is not about the number of people, it’s about the “who”.
● The United States has a policy that unaccompanied minors cannot be rejected when
they are trying to migrate.
○ Latin American children try to migrate to US, turned back by protesters
○ Use of language by the media, “Flood of migrants” “Swamped by migrants”
● Australia’s extreme stance against migration
○ “No way, you will not make Australia home”
○ Northern coastline excised from the Australian territory, not allowing migrants
to land on Australian soil. If they do not land on Australian soil, then they do
not have to abide to the UN agreement of allowing refugees to migrate.
● “Whatever It Takes” connecting illegal immigration to the war on terror
● Attempts to create anxiety around borders
● The First World: “The Walled World”
○ Movement within the first world countries is very free
○ If you live outside of the “Walled World” it is much harder to enter
○ The “Walled World” contains the world’s wealthiest populations
Summary:
● Population, Population Density, Fertility rates and migration are key demographic
metrics - but their significance cannot be understood without context
Document Summary
Demography and biopolitics: population density, fertility and migration. Forced/involuntary migration - those fleeing intolerable situations (war, climate change) There are several countries in the world that are housing the majority of the refugee population that are not first world countries. Millions trying to escape syria to the eu. The eu has made serious efforts to house refugees, but at the same time they did a deal with turkey to enforce the border so they do not cross into the eu, and for them to stay in. Thousands of people drowned trying to cross the mediterranean. The so what about migration: even though we throw big numbers around, when we look at the discourse, it is not about the number of people, it"s about the who . The united states has a policy that unaccompanied minors cannot be rejected when they are trying to migrate. Latin american children try to migrate to us, turned back by protesters.
